What a Tarot Reading can do for You
by Traci Anderson, CPTR

The Tarot is a powerful tool for gaining insight into your self
and your life. As with many techniques that are used for self-improvement,
the Tarot has benefits and limitations. While it can do quite a
lot for you, it cannot solve all problems, and is not designed to
make decisions for you or tell you what to do.

A Tarot reading is like a snapshot of what your life looks like
at the time of the reading. The cards tune into your energy - the
person asking the question - to give you a picture of unseen influences,
patterns of behavior, obstacles, and strengths. A reading can give
you an idea of where you are now, where you've come from, where
you want to be, and how to get there.

While the Tarot gives suggested actions to take and a likely outcome
if you take them, it does not predict the future. The future is
not a static or unchangeable thing. You make choices and decisions
each moment of your life, whether or not your are conscious of them.
The gift of free will allows each person the ability to create the
future he or she wants. With the insight gained through a Tarot
reading, you will be better equipped to make decisions and take
action that is in line with your best interests, growth and development.

Whenever a Tarot reading contains a future or outcome card, it
should be understood to be a projected or likely result if all aspects
of your life remain as they are at the time of the reading. If you
continue to think, act, feel, and see things the same way, the result
will likely be what the outcome card reveals. But change just one
factor, adjust just one viewpoint, walk down a different path, and
the outcome and your future can change.

The Tarot helps you to take responsibility for the life you have
helped to create. It offers guidance and empowerment to make the
changes you want to make. A reading invites you to take an honest
look at your situation, and can give you key information that will
help you create the life and future of your choosing. Crossroads
or choice points in life are where we grow, and the tarot will not
take that experience away from you. While advice is given, no one
should make important decisions or take big steps in life based
only on a reading.

A Tarot reading is no substitute for competent medical, legal,
financial, or psychiatric care. A reading cannot provide you with
diagnosis, treatment, or answers about serious money or psychological
problems. However, as a companion to services from the appropriate
professional, a reading can help you gain a deeper understanding
of the problem. Sometimes a conflict or block in life is so severe
that it must be solved with a professional immediately, before you
are ready to look at deeper issues. Yet the insight gained in a
Tarot reading can reveal the tendencies and patterns within that
led to the impasse.

For example, it is responsible to take care of your money problems
by consulting a financial advisor and working to create and stick
to a budget. And if you were to also receive a Tarot reading, you
could begin the work of looking at your relationship with money
as a pattern in your life. What does money represent to you? How
have you used it in ways that were helpful and not so helpful to
you? This kind of knowledge can help prevent you from getting into
the same trouble again down the line. You are then working on the
external level by taking care of the immediate problem, and on the
inner level by adjusting your attitudes and ways of behaving.

This sets you up nicely to make real and lasting change in your
life, and find fulfillment. The Tarot rarely gives direct yes or
no answers to questions. It also isn't designed to pinpoint exact
dates, times, and locations. Yet, the Tarot is excellent with
sequences of events. If you ask, "When will I get married?" The
reading will not convey, "Wednesday, June 4th at 6pm in the year
2001". But it will show you what needs to happen, be changed, or
be adjusted before you are ready to find a life partner. The cards
tune into the whole of your life, revealing important steps you
can take to achieve your goals. Of course, you must be willing to
take these steps.

In summary, you can gain insight into hidden factors of a problem,
ideas about how to deal with your dilemma, and hope that you don't
have to remain "stuck" wherever you are. You can find answers to
deeper questions that you weren't even aware you wanted the answers
to. You can receive spiritual guidance that will help you on your
chosen path. You will be empowered to help yourself create a more
satisfying and fulfilling life. All this is what a Tarot reading
can do for you.